Accel Code: Turquoise
by Bill Friday
Summary: Rently has lived his new life with many obstacles and troubles that have come in the form of him fighting at nearly every chance he gets. but when his friend gives him a program that accelerates the world around him his life will be all but changed. but when he begins suspecting ulterior motives from her, the question is if he can trust the girl he calls family? see for more detail
**okay, so those of you wondering, i could not help but publish this new story. ive been having the need to get something new out so i came up with this, and now im gonna stick to it. for those who are following my other stories, i apologize but ill get to those when i get the motivation for them again.**

 **as for technical things, for some reason FF wouldnt let me put up a second OC character in the description (even though i had no problem before with it, so that's gonna need a few complain reports.) since the majority of characters will be OC's. weel i suppose ive said enough, read on and enjoy.**

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Rently flinched when he touched the bruise that remained on his cheek. One week later and it seemed it still hurt like it did when he got into that scrap with an upperclassman, which had gotten him a week's worth of suspension. The really bizarre thing about this though, is that so far this has been a major improvement for him; this is only the third time he's fought in all the school year with another student, and he'd feel much better about it if his attention didn't get called off from his ADD addled spacing out.

"Mr. Giest." Said Mr. Fukuhara, making Rently look back up at the board where all the floating panels that only existed in his, and everyone else's vision. "I would appreciate it if all my students were to keep their attention on the board."

"Sorry sensei." He said and looked back at the board, but his attention wandered off to other things that were not necessarily in front of him. First was his excitement of going to Hanako-Neechan's home this weekend.

Which when Rently thought about it, it seemed to be very strange; it had been barely a week after he had been suspended, followed by being grounded, and on Sunday morning came the message from Uncle Shinjiro inviting him over. Then again it wasn't as easy as it sounded since both his parents took most of the entire day to think it over, and while they weren't the strictest parents, _pushovers_ wasn't the best the best way to describe them. Either way it seemed to have worked out since now he had all the games he planned to bring over with him, new manga and anime to share, and as well as gifts he picked out himself for all the girls on Friday. It was a matter of hoping they'd like most of what hes bringing.

For what felt like an hour of staring into the board where he wasn't paying any attention, he turned his eye to where the clock on his hub was. Predictably less time has passed than he thought, and wanted to freaking punch something to let his frustration out on, and pillows are not cutting it for him anymore. Well then he'd rather not risk letting his clenched fist meet with an innocent student's face, so he let his brain do its thing and wander off once more, the very many times he's so glad to have ADD affecting his attention span. This time his mind thought towards this Friday, of walking up to Uncle Shinjiro and Aunt Alca's apartment that had two floors, almost ten rooms, and just emanated how well off their family was, and before long his thoughts turned towards his cousins: Hanako and Mila, spending the night with them, staying up late watching movies and playing games, their parents overlooking the fact it was midnight since they having such a good time.

Yet he felt something was left out, and of course his mind came towards a girl, the same age as him, crossing her arms and turning her back on him, giving a huff he always expects of her when she sees him not giving her any attention.

" _Damn it." He hated forgetting about her as much as she did whenever it happened, and each and every time it seemed hard to get her to forgive him for it. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to let it happen."_

" _Then why don't you try a little harder to make sure it never happens?" She didn't turn her head towards him, instead she kept her place set as she spoke, so typical of her._

" _Well it's not that easy."_

" _Then it's not that easy for me to forgive you." Okay, that one did actually hurt, but who could blame her? Sometimes it seemed he was doing it deliberately. But then those kinds of reactions from her could be meaningless; often it took a little gesture from him to get her to forgive him, just like now._

 _He walked up behind her, not suspecting him in the least before wrapping his arms around her, causing a small tremor to come out of her; he knew he had her._

" _Well?" He asked resting his chin on her shoulder, being that he was only a few inches taller, he was allowed this much._

" _I… guess I can." She said after a minute, and with a sigh of relief her put his hand under her chin, making her face him._

" _Thank you." He said softly, looking in her sharp green eyes, reminding him of a little cat before he neared their lips together-_

Rently's scream would have shattered the glass of the school if he let his lips part even a little as he directed his punch towards the bruise on his cheek, and dug his nails into the wood of his desk. What in the hell was his problem? Right when that thought crossed his mind the lunch bell rang, and all the students got up and put all their materials and papers away, but rent on the other hand took this opportunity to eek out a pathetic breath as he gripped his now in-pain face.

He didn't give himself a minute to put away all of his utensils and papers in his bag, just shoving everything into his accordion folder and tossing the pens and pencils into their respective bags, and he damn sure still felt that throbbing pain that left him with half a face still cringing and twisted Harvey Two-Face style.

While he made his way through the halls of the school his thoughts went back to earlier, when he let himself fantasize (and totally wished he didn't), but it wasn't because they were related, it was far from that in fact. He may call the Fuzukis' his family, but in reality Alca's side of her family were old friends of his mother's, and in the years he's lived here in Japan he's considered them as close as any family can be; calling them his aunt and uncle, and their daughters his cousins wasn't much trouble for him. But then there's the one girl there who stood out most for him, almost the same instant they have both met. He shook his head of those thoughts as he could have those later when he got ready for his lunch.

Normally it was a five minute walk towards the cafeteria from his last class, but with a serious sprint, and his ability to expertly maneuver through a crowd, he could be able to get there within a minute if his exhaustion didn't kick him in the rear too much.

While he made his way through the halls, avoiding the first years while ducking under and through the older kids, Rent failed to notice one boy who was walking ahead of him, his back facing towards him, and was cause to not avoid which resulted in Rent tripping both of them over, and resulting in an awkward tangle.

"God damn it I'm so sorry!" He said quickly, gathering himself up; it was times like this that his parents built an argument against him learning to parkour in very public spaces (even if he's yet to get any better at it). He managed to fix everything up quickly enough, and once he got himself to sit upright, he saw the kid he had tumbled over with.

He was very overweight, way more than any kid his age should really be, and had a mop of brown hair on his head. He honestly looked pathetic, and Rently didn't like that he had to think that of him. What was worse were the students who walked by gave glances, and a few stopped to look, but they didn't do anything.

 _Perfect, they might think I did something to him._ And while he could care less what opinions people made of him, Rently sure as hell didn't want people thinking he was something he clearly wasn't.

"Hey kid, you okay there?" He asked looking for both of their bags. "Sorry about running into you and-"

"Why don't you try looking where you walk, shouldn't be too hard!" The fat kid snapped snarkily to him the instant he tried talking to him. Suddenly Rently's fist clenched up, his anger boiling up inside of him. His fist began trembling, and he felt himself suddenly fall into the inevitable headspace he resided in times like these. By this point however, it was as if the whole thing had become routine for him since this had been going on from years before. What made it worse was that it didn't stop there with the kid continuing his insults. "Unless you like being the kind of person who doesn't bother with basic human decency." The brown haired kid then reached for his bag, and the instant he tried swiping it, Rent snatched the kid by the collar of his jacket, yanking their faces together and pulling a scared face from him; all that was left was being able to pull him off the floor, which he couldn't for obvious reasons.

"Look, _kid_ ," Rent seethed, stretching the last word like he was trying to make it an insult. "I said I was sorry, didn't I? I don't appreciate someone who not only ignores an apology, but also accuses me of being something I'm not, you fat little-!" He stopped when he found his fist was raised up, over his head and ready to be brought down. Punching some asinine bipedal gorilla trying to pass off as a student would be one thing. No problem if they started it, physically or verbally, and fist fights he's been no stranger to. Right here, though he was ready- no - was about to _pummel_ some random kid who maybe had a rough morning, and had no outlet other than verbal assault.

Right now he was really starting to hate himself.

Knowing what was about to come his way, Rent let the kid's collar go, letting him fall back to his feet rather than stand on his toes; the most he could manage considering his weight, and let the breath he was holding out, bowing his head in apology. "I'm sorry, for all of… _that_." He looked up from his bow at him, the horror on the kid's face from before now gone. In its place was a look that suggested confusion, relief, and even a little bit of… well, rent couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt it was gratitude; it was the closest thing he could come up with.

He stood up from his bow, noticing the teachers who were coming his way; he figured it would be pointless in trying to avoid this, so briefly breathing in he turned his head again to see the brown haired kid one more time, the expression the kid had earlier turning into a more cathartic one. That look had him feeling worse now; that self hatred still didn't leave him and he wanted to make it up to him.

He saw there was still a couple dozen seconds before the teachers got to them. Thinking fast he dug his hand into his pocket, and grabbed a hold of the first thing he felt. Yanking it out he saw that what he got out was a six inch block of chocolate. Some very, _very_ expensive chocolate with gold flakes to letter the company's name. Did he mention he was loaded?

"Here." he passed the block to him, and by the expression he showed it was clear Rently had caught him by surprise. Once all the teachers who were nearby had gotten to the crowd that had gathered and then subsequently disperse since Rent didn't do more than hold up a fist, both boys were taken to a close by classroom where the teachers who held him gave him the usual kind of dribble he was used to hearing. He'd have fallen asleep if his mind wasn't on trying to get to the cafeteria.

After ten minutes, ten times the amount he promised to show up in the cafeteria, he was allowed out of the classroom and was several feet away from the teacher's sight, he made a run for it once again. The hallways were empty allowing for better running space, and avoided the spots where he could be easily noticed by the cameras. In total he had spent twelve to fifteen minutes in trying to get to the cafeteria, and once he did he was exhausted. He scanned the large room when he caught his breath, looking for someone specific; it took a few seconds but his eyes came to a stop when he spotted a big, lovely blue bow, and a grin plastered itself over his face.

As he got closer the girl's features became more recognizable: long obsidian hair tied back in the bow he saw before, her green eyes Rent sometimes found he loses himself in, but never minds it- focus! And the blue crescent moon necklace that she always wore. She had on the girl's version of the Umesato Junior High uniform, along with a pair of black tights. Rently took a deep breath as he tried not letting his heart start racing like mad when he looked at her, especially seeing that she had two bento boxes on her lap, and his heart skipped a beat.

For his good fortunes however, his mood soured when he got a look at her face, that told him the mood she was in was not good: she looked absolutely peeved, with her eyes hardened like emeralds and lips pressed thinly together; it made him swallow the hard lump that developed in his throat.

"Lucia!" He called out then, maybe using her real name would calm her down enough so he wouldn't get a harsh reprimand (actually a punch) from her, cause he already had one for today. And it seemed it worked (kinda) when her shoulders stiffened, and a blush covered her face, followed by a little smile once she saw him.

"Hey Rent." she said timidly, and feeling he was in the clear, Rent went up to her.

"Sorry for getting here late." He said taking a seat next to her on the row of cushioned seats, and immediately he got slugged in the shoulder. "God dammit! What the hell!"

"You're late." She said crossing her arms and looking away from him.

"I said I was sorry!" He said defensively, but it was useless. Knowing her she'd keep this grudge up for at least another few minutes, and that was without getting her into his arms, and resting his chin on her shoulder-

"Ow!" Rent yelped as he jammed his knuckle into his bruise, and his face contorted in pain, the yell being enough to make Lulu look back at him with concern etched in her face. Naturally when she saw what it was, her frown came back.

"Oh yeah," suddenly it looked as if her soured look got cranked up a few levels, and was cause for him to shrink back. "About your suspension."

"Hey that jerk Banri had it coming!" He tried defending before she said anything else. "He thought that what came out of his mouth wouldn't end up hurting him, so I was teaching him otherwise!"

"And that bruise you have is your reward for it." That seemed to have stung Rently as he felt the dark blue patch of flesh pulsate.

"Well, not like I wasn't expecting it." He didn't even try to put more energy into that argument, and just let it drip out of his mouth like a weak trickle of water.

"More like you deserved it." This time there was more sharpness in her tone, and it would've hurt the poor boy if he didn't have the plastic bento box shoved in his stomach. "Now eat up, I don't want you starving when we do the full dive." He grunted, but decided he was too hungry to say anything else. Besides, the lunch boxes Lulu made for them both were always his favorite part of school (not that he ever liked it from the beginning), what with needing to wake up in the morning, and an irritating schedule.

He opened up the dark blue container, and got hit with the aroma of orange chicken and broccoli beef right away as the two most immediate scents he could pick out. When he looked on he was it was the two meats he deciphered before, but also a healthy serving of noodles, steamed vegetables, and a maltese ball for desert, and those were just the sides! In the larger container set in the middle was a serving of steamed rice, with a sushi wrap pressed into the middle. However, almost none of it could compare to what caught his eye the most; down, near the bottom of the rice was a sushi, molded into an oval shape, on the tip of one side was a stalk of celery, cut thin and the tip split only slightly, and running along the sides the seaweed was pinched and stretched out in three pairs to resemble legs. In essence Lulu had made him a beetle, his favorite animal.

And he knew the strain it took to be able to make this little diamond in the rough for him, which is why when he looked over to her dark violet bento he saw she served herself the same exact meat and veggies, but in her rice, instead of an elaborately made decoration, the sushi she had stuffed was instead used to represent a cat nose, and used sliced olives to make the eyes nose and whiskers.

He sighed, and smiled, leaning over to her and nudging her shoulder.

"Thank you Lulu." he said using her nickname, and even though he couldn't see it, she smiled a little at his thanks.

"I know you're hopeless when it comes to lunch." Was her reply, but he really loved the way she would bend over backwards for this kind of stuff for him. "Really, you say that my food is always the best you eat here at school."

Only because he felt it really was. He didn't know what it was that always made the food she makes so especially good, but he'd willingly let himself starve out if he had a sliver of a chance to eat whatever she prepares. But every time he tries telling her he ends up with some counter remark telling him to get real about the very average food she makes. Nevertheless Rent always finishes what she makes for him, even while she leaves at least some portion uneaten, and always makes sure to savor it, if only because he considers her one of the most important people in his life.

Once they had finished their food, Rent and Lulu set their boxes down together before she stuffed them back in her bag.

"Thanks for the meal Lu." Rent said once she had the boxes put away, and sat up straight. She looked at him when he thanked, and smiled a little. It drove his heart into overdrive whenever he saw her make such a small gesture at him.

 _Damn it, why is admitting the most simplest thing so hard?_

As if in response he heard a scoff, and when he looked his nose ran into her pointing finger.

"Uh, ow?"

"Shut it, and let's do the full dive." Rent slightly shrank at Lulu's demand, but he'd comply anyway seeing how he was late, and they had at best just ten minutes.

"These are times when your habit of not mincing words comes in handy doesn't it?" But she said nothing, only keeping her look ahead like her focus was somewhere else. It made Rent sigh how hard she tried to come off cold, it actually kind of surprised him to an extent. Well. It didn't matter since she was already in her own full dive trance, and he shouldn't waste any more time, just as much for her sake as his.

"Full dive." Came the order to his neuro-linker, immediately followed by a sense of falling into an empty void, followed by a feeling of falling, and then weightlessness, before all the color returned to his sight. He could pick up sound now, and it wasn't long before his other senses followed suit. He smiled brightly, like he had completed a near daunting task.

Once he was on his feet he looked around the world that was made for the students when they had full dived into the school network: a colorful, bright fantasyland forest, with the booths for games and activities made up by hollowed trees, or made like a normal booth at a festival; the cobblestone walkways leading around into the different areas that the Network provides for them, mostly being games, and study areas. and in the center was an elevated area where most of the kids went to hang out at. Rent looked about and admired the world before coming face to face with a reflective surface, where he caught a look of his avatar.

The avatar he had was a near total replica of himself, short stature- a feature that annoyed him to no end- a mop of black hair that for personal reasons he never ever combs now suddenly slicked back with his bangs being the only strands of hair that are allowed freedom, and made his sharply shaped head that bordered on handsome come closer to it. He wore a victorian era suit; a dark blue dress shirt with black buttons, pair of pants that matched his coat tailed jacket, and finally dress shoes that were of a darker color than all else he wore.

In all, Rently was dressed as butler, and he didn't realize it until a few weeks into the school year, much to his dismay. For a few weeks basically everyone teased him by asking to bring them a treat or drink, and it eventually boiled into anger after some time. And yes it could be easy for him to just swap out his avatar's clothes and put an end to this, but there was a reason he kept it like that, and she stood in front of him, hands on her hips and looking murderously annoyed at him.

Her avatar was also a replica of her, only she had large kitty ears on her head, one white and one black that poked out of stereotypical pointed witch hat, going along with her black shin length dress with bell sleeves, and white color around the border on her hemline and sleeves, and then had black and white leggings and black buckle shoes.

"You're late. Again." He couldn't help but shrink back at the sight of her, followed by her scolding, and now he was bordering on just falling apart and collapsing on his knees.

"I-i'm sorry." He knew it'll do him little good, but it couldn't hurt to say it at least. It had become clockwork to him, and it followed by him keeping his eyes down on the floor, and awaiting the blow to the shoulder like before the dived in. he smiled a little at the thought though; somehow these very familiar routines for them, not just the slug to his shoulder, but other little innocuous gestures, be them physical, verbal, or just little gestures gave him comfort, the same way he saw it gave to her too.

Which is why when he felt his hand getting grabbed and being pulled forward, he was jarred nearly to dizzyness, the stumbling and near tripping only adding to the feeling like he had just gotten off a spinning teacups ride. After the initial shock, Rent was able to better catch up with Lulu after she nearly tripped over a kid with a little pink pig avatar that Rent knew was the only one since he never saw anyone else with anything even remotely similar. Now they walked hand in hand rather than him being pulled like a toy duck on a string.

"Hey Lu, what's going on?!"

"Don't say anything!" Lulu snapped back, immediately causing him to shut his trap. Somehow he felt like he was the cause of her mood, which most likely was the answer. "... So who was it?" Rent wasn't allowed time to even gather his thoughts further after her last bullet storm of words, and this new hail jumbled him up.

"What?"

"You know, which Banri was it?" Ah, now it was all coming together for him; she was asking for the kid who was the reason he was suspended, not that it was their fault entirely since Rent always had a reason to fight someone indiscriminately, even if it was at the last second. That's how it's been for most of his life, even while he lived back in the U.K., when his adoptive family still lived there, and it hasn't changed much since he came to Japan. Frankly he sees no reason why it has to be any different, other than the obvious. "Well?" Her persistence in her question snapped rent out of his thoughts and looked back at her, giving her his reply:

"Why are you even asking?" She'd hit him if they weren't still holding hands, but her scowl proved terrifying still as her eyes narrowed at him, and her lips curled into a frown. "Oh cmon, what reason do I got to even share that with you?"

"A week, that's why." And suddenly he felt that every one of his arguments would fall apart if he tried putting them up, and yet the girl beside him didn't stop there. "You know how being left all on my own makes me feel Rent, so I want to know, which Banri was it that you fought?"

"Fukuhara." He said immediately before the guilt welled up anymore. But he could feel bad later when Lu suddenly suppressed a sharp 'What?'

"That little windbag?" She said in an incredulous tone while also keeping her voice down. Rently just nodded, to which she dropped her hands to the sides and gripped the skirt of her dress. "Of all the people, why him?"

"He was talking bad about all the technology we have here!" As much as he loved living in this day and age of technology, it amazed Rently just how many people still had such a bad view of it, usually being older people who grew up in an age where their tech was "simpler" and did not invade a person's mind in order to function. what especially got to him however, were kids as young as he is because they're the ones who jump at the newest neuro-linker update, or set of games. Usually it would be that they have parents who bent over backwards to have their own views imprinted into their kid's minds.

"Does that mean the answer is to beat them to a pulp?"

"If they annoy me enough then…" actually he wasn't going to answer that, to which she just rolled her eyes and sighed at him.

"One of these days, your short temper and need to hit things will end up getting you in all the wrong ways Rently." This sounded familiar to him.

"Haven't we discussed this before?"

"Almost every time you get suspended after a fight." He found the girl suddenly popping up in front of him, making him stumble back and nearly fall over. "When it fighting over lunch money, fighting over getting smacked in the back of the head, seats at lunch for who knows what reason, and now over some kid saying whatever he want's about neuro-linkers. Rent, is all that you need to reply to everything is violence?" Suddenly the bell that marked the end of the lunch period rang, followed by the voice on the intercoms that told the students to log out so they could be able to get to their classes. "Ugh, i hate when this happens!" She was a foot stomp away from making her tantrum complete, but otherwise she had herself composed. "We can talk again another time, okay?" Rently nodded, for once grateful the bell was able to ring. That gave him small relief though when she shoved herself in front of him yet again with the same look on her face as before. "And don't forget, do _not_ be late. At. all."

"Yes ma'am, understood ma'am." Perfect, now he was addressing her like she was someone of higher authority. Didn't matter since she was already giving her dive out command, and her avatar went away before his eyes along with all of the other avatars that were around him. some however did no such thing, preferring to keep to the world than head to class. They could get away with it mainly since their physical body is well hidden somewhere, and so they could spend more time here. Not that the teachers seemed to try and find them anyways, but what was it to him? With no further reason to keep himself here, rent gave his own order now. "Dive out." And found himself drifting out of the virtual landscape.

He came to, and opened his eyes, meeting with Lulu's, who had one of her brows arched.

"Did I make you wait long?" Lulu gave him a huff in reply. "I'll take that as..?"

"Let's go." in a low growl she said and held her and out for him. after lunch break their next class was the only one they shared, so it had become routine they both walk together to it. The funny thing is that it seemed to Lulu that holding her hand out so he could grab it was so natural, it made him think back to when they were in the fulldive, where she grabbed his hand to pull him along, before he caught up with her. He realized they were walking hand in hand then, and neither of them had addressed it.

It almost made him blush, but like then he wasn't letting his deep red tint show in his face, instead pushing it down as he reached out and grabbed her hand, and began walking down the hall. Unlike back then though, he was actually aware they were holding hands as they walked into class together.

"So what nightmare does Mrs. Hazakawa have for us?" Rent asked with a wide grin. From how Lu looked at him, and smiled modestly back before looking ahead, the heavy emotions from before had boiled away from her, leaving her with the chance to actually feel glad about being with him. _Yeah, it really is hard to admit the most simplest things._ Rent's thoughts passed by in his head as Lulu began going off on a tangent at how their history always gave their lectures too fast for anyone to follow. _Because it was hard to admit this to myself, and now it's hard to admit to Lulu: that I'm in love with her, my best friend._ He sighed as he sarcastically gave himself a sympathetic pat. It took a few minutes, the little time they had left since the first bell rang and walked into class seconds before it sounded off again.

He let their hands separate, the nice, cold feel of her palm leaving him, almost like leaving an empty spot in him as they went to their seats in opposite sides of the room. Once he took his seat, and the lesson began, Rent turned on his Neuro-linker's note taking app, and just typed in the first few things that came from the teacher's mouth before his mind wandered off; first to the strategy to clearing the boss of the new brawler game he got, then to a net cafe where him and Lulu could hang out at. Then, one of the few things that could pull him away from his daydreaming (just third to the smell of his favorite snack food and the sound of Lucia calling his attention), the beep of an email came up on his sight. putting his thoughts on pause, he looked at the alert and saw who it was from.

 _It's from Hanako._ Rent arched a brow when he first looked at the name. While it wasn't uncommon for the girls to send him mail, mostly little gossip tidbits they can't hold in so they have to pass it along to someone (most likely a kid who would never associate with the crowds they hang out with), and he fit the standard usually. But almost _never_ at school hours, or any hours they know he would be busy. He shook it off however; he could always trust Hanako whenever she did things that were unusual for her; same went for Mila and Lulu. So what could happen? He opened up the file and read what was written out in it.

 _Rently! So sorry for sending an email like this, but I wanted to ask if you and Lucia could meet me and Mila in the arcade near our school; you know the one with that one really old fighting game you like?_

 _Hanako 3_

He sighed as he knew he couldn't resist an offer at the arcade he remembered spending so much of his money and time at. Without further question he sent back a simple reply.

 _I really hate how you know how to exploit everyone's weaknesses. I'll meet you two over there, after school, and not a later time._

 _Rently._

After sending the message, he took in a deep breath, and repressed an excited shiver. He was going to meet with Hana-Chan a lot earlier than he thought! After getting the feelings of excitement out of his system, Rent went back to daydreaming, only now it was of him with his cousins hanging out, and Lulu remaining beside him, leaning against him with a very dream like look in her eyes while she smiled up at him.


End file.
